Venturi Wealth Management LLC Purchases 734 Shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Choice Hotels International, Inc. (NYSE:CHH) by 42.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,481 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Choice Hotels International were worth $323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 144.4% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Choice Hotels International by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the first quarter valued at about $500,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Choice Hotels International by 73.1% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $992,000 after buying an additional 3,314 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Choice Hotels International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $515,000. 65.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Choice Hotels International Stock Performance

NYSE:CHH opened at $144.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 177.75, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.71. Choice Hotels International, Inc. has a 52-week low of $108.91 and a 52-week high of $149.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.24.

Choice Hotels International (NYSE:CHH) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.31. Choice Hotels International had a net margin of 16.27% and a negative return on equity of 659.01%. The company had revenue of $428.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $432.62 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Analysts forecast that Choice Hotels International, Inc. will post 6.76 EPS for the current year.

Choice Hotels International Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.2875 dividend. This represents a $1.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Choice Hotels International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 404,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $48,709,646.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Choice Hotels International news, CEO Patrick Pacious sold 10,025 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.37, for a total value of $1,206,709.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 404,666 shares in the company, valued at $48,709,646.42. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Dominic Dragisich sold 9,138 shares of Choice Hotels International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.88, for a total transaction of $1,232,533.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 68,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,240,493.92. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,437 shares of company stock valued at $9,788,980. Company insiders own 24.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CHH has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Choice Hotels International from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Choice Hotels International from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Choice Hotels International from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Choice Hotels International from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Choice Hotels International from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Choice Hotels International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $128.78.

Choice Hotels International Profile

Choice Hotels International, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a hotel franchisor in the United States and internationally. It operates through Hotel Franchising & Management and Corporate & Other segments. The company franchises lodging properties under the brand names of Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Quality, Clarion, Clarion Pointe, Sleep Inn, Ascend Hotel Collection, Econo Lodge, Rodeway Inn, MainStay Suites, Suburban Studios, WoodSpring Suites, Everhome Suites, Cambria Hotels, Radisson Blu, Radisson RED, Radisson, Park Plaza, Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Radisson Inn & Suites, Park Inn by Radisson, Radisson Individuals, and Radisson Collection.